EasyJet grounds all flights due to coronavirus

EasyJet has grounded its entire fleet of aircraft due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement to the London Stock Exchange on Monday, the no-frills carrier said it completed its final rescue flight on Sunday and was now about to place its cabin crew on a two-month leave of absence.

The airline said: "As a result of the unprecedented travel restrictions imposed by governments in response to the coronavirus pandemic and the implementation of national lockdowns across many European countries, easyJethas, today, fully grounded its entire fleet of aircraft.

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"Over recent days easyJet has been helping to repatriate customers, having operated more than 650 rescue flights to date, returning home more than 45,000 customers.

"The last of these rescue flights were operated on Sunday March 29. We will continue to work with government bodies to operate additional rescue flights as requested.

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"At this stage there can be no certainty of the date for restarting commercial flights. We will continuously evaluate the situation based on regulations and demand, and will update the market when we have a view."

Flight numbers have fallen to a trickle globally as international air travel responds to a collapse in demand and restrictions on movement – prompting requests for government support to secure the industry's future prospects.

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EasyJet has seen the value of its shares dive by almost 60% in the year to date while Sky News revealed on Sunday that its founder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, was threatening to seek the removal of most of its board members unless it cancelled a £4.5bn aircraft order